Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Another person has died in Tennessee from a fungal meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated steroid injections for back pain.

The State Department of Health says a total of 74 people who received the injections in Tennessee have been sickened and 10 of them have died.

State health officials said earlier this week that the great majority of risk for stroke or death associated with the outbreak is gone by 42 days after the injection. By Nov. 8, all 1,009 people in Tennessee who got the contaminated steroids will have passed the 42-day mark.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee health officials say the number of people sickened by fungal meningitis and other diseases after receiving steroid injections has risen to 70.

Yesterday, the pharmacist who co-founded the Massachusetts specialty pharmacy linked to the meningitis outbreak voluntarily surrendered his license in Tennessee.

The state pharmacy board accepted the agreement by Barry Cadden, the co-founder of New England Compounding Center, to give up his license to practice pharmacy in Tennessee. The company surrendered its license last week.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — As the presidential campaign heads into the final days, Middle Tennessee State University is examining how negative advertising and attack ads are effective and why they flood the airwaves.

A symposium on negative campaign advertising will be held Tuesday at the Student Union Building and is sponsored by the MTSU Department of Political Science, the Albert Gore Research Center and the College of Liberal Arts.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Hendersonville woman sickened by fungal meningitis after receiving a steroid injection for back pain is suing the pharmacy that supplied the drug.

On Monday, Janet Russell and her husband, Robert Russell, sued the New England Compounding Center for $15 million. The suit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court claims the pharmacy allowed the steroid to be contaminated by fungi through negligence.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Democratic lawmaker who has criticized the Tennessee Department of Children's Services over the years says the agency's commissioner shouldn't be scrutinized for deeply rooted problems she has inherited.

About two weeks ago, the embattled agency released information that showed 31 children it had investigated died during the first six months of 2012. The figures were provided after repeated requests by another Democratic lawmaker.

ASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Department of Health officials say the state's death toll from an outbreak of fungal meningitis has risen to six.

Dr. John Dreyzhener, Tennessee's health commissioner, said Tuesday the total number of cases in the state has increased by four and now stands at 39. The cases all stem from steroid injections for back pain and officials say evidence points to contaminated medicine as the cause of the rare disease.

ASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Department of Health officials say the state's death toll from an outbreak of fungal meningitis has risen to six.

Dr. John Dreyzhener, Tennessee's health commissioner, said Tuesday the total number of cases in the state has increased by four and now stands at 39. The cases all stem from steroid injections for back pain and officials say evidence points to contaminated medicine as the cause of the rare disease.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities have issued an Amber Alert for two Bedford County children missing since a fire burned down their home five days ago, saying there is no evidence they were victims of the blaze.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued the alert Friday evening. Investigators earlier in the day had returned to the scene of the Shelbyville house fire in which two bodies were found, tentatively identified as the children's step-grandparents.

The Tennessean reports that after about three hours of oral arguments yesterday, Judge Carol McCoy ruled against civil rights attorney George Barrett in the case. Barrett contended the state constitution requires only proof of legal age, residency and registration to vote.

The judge responded that voting procedures have evolved over the years and the legislature can enact laws that secure what the court termed "the purity of the ballot box."

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A fraternity at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has been suspended while campus police investigate an alcohol-related incident that left one student in critical condition.

According to a UT police department incident report obtained by The Knoxville News Sentinel, an unresponsive 20-year-old man was brought into the UT Medical Center early Saturday.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two administrators at the University of Tennessee say they can’t support health insurance benefits for same-sex partners of UT employees.

According to The Knoxville News Sentinel, a letter from university Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and Agriculture Chancellor Larry Arrington was read to a UT Faculty Senate meeting yesterday. In it, Cheek and Arrington stated that offering benefits to unmarried gay partners would violate state statute.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The head of a privately-run online school in Union County says it has plans to improve student performance after the state's education commissioner called the school's poor test scores last year "unacceptable."

The Tennessee Virtual Academy is operated by K12 Inc., the nation's largest publicly-traded online education company, under contract with the Union County Public Schools system.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A group of Nashville-area World War II veterans is getting a free flight to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II memorial built in their honor.

The local veterans and their guardians will fly out of Nashville International Airport on Wednesday morning.

In Washington, buses will transport them to the World War II Memorial as well as other monuments, including the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, the Air Force Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The group will fly back to Nashville on Wednesday night.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — The cousin of an Alabama man killed during a drive-by shooting during a cookout in Murfreesboro says he was trying to save a child.

Deborah Tuma told The Daily News Journal that 51-year-old Mickey Simmons of Demopolis, Ala., got shot in the neck early Monday morning as about 30 people gathered at her house for a post-wedding cookout.

Tuma says her duplex home and a few cars were also shot as the guests were preparing to leave.

About 30 people including 15 children were at the event following a wedding in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The fall football season got underway Thursday night here in Middle Tennessee, with several mid-state teams starting the season at home.

The New Orleans Saints took no chances in their final pre-season game, resting all starters in a 10-6 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Marcus Lattimore ran for two touchdowns and Connor Shaw ran for 92 yards while playing the second half with an injured shoulder as No. 9 South Carolina rallied for a 17-13 victory against Vanderbilt. Lattimore scored the go-ahead TD on a 1-yard run with 11:25 to go.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Officials from Nissan North America were on the Middle Tennessee State University campus Tuesday to donate two electric cars and three charging stations to the school. <?xml:namespace prefix = o />

It’s part of Nissan’s efforts to promote the use of zero-emission vehicles.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee says that the Nissan Leaf cars will go into the university's motor pool. McPhee says the donation underscores the school’s commitment to a green campus.